


Unsteady

by avngrsrct



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Peter Parker-centric, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Protective Avengers, Protective Steve Rogers, Team Feels, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-10 00:57:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18649666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avngrsrct/pseuds/avngrsrct
Summary: Major Endgame spoilers!Summary on the inside to protect those who haven't seen the movie!





	Unsteady

**Author's Note:**

> CONTAINS ENDGAME SPOILERS! WATCH THE MOVIE BEFORE YOU READ!
> 
> You've been warned!
> 
> This fic takes place after endgame. Long before the events of infinity war, Peter was taken in by the Avengers to live with the team. Civil war never happened, so up until endgame, the team has all lived together. Also, Avengers tower still exists, so that's where they retreat to after the compound is destroyed. Hope that kind of makes sense.
> 
> I'm terrible at summaries, and this is my first fic EVER so apologize for any errors that I've made. 
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy!

Peter was okay, before the snap.

 

After May’s death, Peter had moved in to live with the Avengers. He was spiraling, but they kept him grounded. The Avengers gave him a new family.

 

Before the snap.

 

Peter remembers it all too clearly. Coming back to life was a painful process. The feeling of your cells being stitched back together, atom by atom, was even more painful than turning to dust. That feeling still haunted him up until this day.

 

And then there was the fight back on Earth. Peter could still feel it all. His spidey-sense had been going haywire, alerting him of every person, bullet, lightning bolt and repulsor beam shooting by. He could still feel the dread pooling at the pit of his stomach. The sharp feeling of danger.

 

He could still remember Mr. Stark.

 

“Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It’s Peter.. We won...” he had said to him, breaking down.

 

No response.

 

“Mr. Stark?”

 

Peter shot up from his bed, trembling. His eyes frantically darted around the room and locked with clear, blue ones. Steve.

 

“I got you, Pete. I got you.” Steve sat down on the edge of Peter’s bed as Peter practically fell into his arms. He buried his face into Steve’s shoulder, clutching desperately onto Steve’s shirt as if it was the only thing keeping him alive.

 

Ever since he had been brought back to life, Peter had a fear that lurked in the back of his mind that he would be turned to dust again. Probably never going to happen, he knows, since Thanos is dead, and the infinity stones were returned back in time, but that doesn’t stop him from fearing the worst. Peter could not go through that again.

 

The thought of it made him sob harder into Steve’s shoulder and Peter felt Steve’s grip tighten around him in response. After the aftermath of the fight, Clint went back to Iowa to spend time with his family. Thor was who knows where, off traveling through space. Bruce was barely around anymore as well, usually locked up in his lab, not on the communal floor. Steve was the only one who was regularly at the tower, so Peter latched onto him. Steve quickly became Peter’s constant, keeping him anchored. Or keeping what’s left of him, at least.

 

Tony and Natasha’s deaths had taken an enormous toll on the team, particularly on Peter. Before the snap, Tony and Peter had been closer than ever. Tony had taken on a paternal role, a side of him that many have never seen before. Peter’s heart clenched at the thought of him.

 

Natasha was another story. She was fiercely protective of Peter, which was endearing, but sometimes overbearing. Peter never even got to say a proper goodbye to her. By the time he was brought back to life, she was already gone.

 

Soon enough, morning came, and Peter was utterly exhausted. Sitting at the dining room table, Peter stared into his cereal, deep in thought.

 

“What’s on your mind, kiddo?” Steve asked him from over the kitchen counter.

 

Peter quickly snapped out of his trance. “Just tired,” he mumbled.

 

Steve raised an eyebrow knowingly. “You have that face on.”

 

“What face? I don’t have a face?”

 

“Yeah, you do. I can practically hear you thinking from here.” Steve said as he took a seat at the table, opposite of Peter, who shrugged in response.

 

Peter sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I was just wondering… Maybe Spider-man–”

 

“Peter–”

 

“I didn’t even finish my sentence! Just hear me out. Maybe Spider-man should get back into action?”

 

Steve paused. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Pete.”

 

“Well, why not?”

 

“I don’t think you’re ready to go back out there just yet.”

 

“But, _Steve_ , it’s been a month. New York needs its hero.”

 

“I think New York can wait a little bit longer. Just take it easy for now.”

 

“But I’m ready! I’ve _been_ ready!”

 

“No, Peter,” Steve said, voice slightly raising in volume.

 

“I just want to keep the city safe!” Peter exclaimed in frustration.

 

“And I want to keep _you_ safe.” Steve sighed as he ran a hand over his face. “Promise me you won’t go out there just yet.”

 

Peter stared down into his lap.

 

“Peter, please. Promise me.” Steve said as he searched Peter’s eyes.

 

“Fine. I promise.”

 

* * *

 

Less than 24 hours later, Peter broke that promise.

 

Steve was called away on a mission, leaving Peter alone on the floor. The urge to patrol was greater than ever. Quickly suiting up, he jumped out the window, swinging through the streets.

 

_“Hey! I said give me your money! Everything you got!”_ Peter heard someone yell in the distance. He changed directions and started to swing towards the sound.

 

Arriving at the scene, Peter quietly slipped into the alleyway. Sure enough, there was a young man held at gunpoint by a larger man.

 

“What seems to be the problem here?” Peter said, casually leaning on the wall, making his presence known. The larger man whipped his body around so the gun was trained on Peter, who put both of his hands up in response.

 

“Woah, woah. I don’t want any trouble. What’s the problem here?” Peter asked again, innocently. The man didn’t respond. “Not a talker, huh? Suit yourself.”

 

Peter fired his webs at the man who quickly dodged them. As Peter caused the distraction, the smaller man managed to escape, running for his life. The larger man grabbed his gun and began to fire at Peter. The back of Peter’s neck prickled, as he dodged each bullet. His spidey-sense was so preoccupied with the gunshots, he failed to notice another man, about to charge him from behind.

 

The other man tackled Peter to the floor, landing a solid punch to his jaw. Peter threw the man off of him, only to be kicked directly in the head by the man with the gun. Peter’s spidey-sense went off, but a lot more sluggish than it usually did. Peter tried to shoot them both with his webs but continued to miss due to the dizziness from the blows to his head. One of the men lunged for both of his wrists, squeezing them tightly until his web shooters broke.

 

Peter lay on the ground, curled in on himself. Suddenly he was back in the battle at the destroyed compound, listening to the battle cries, repulsor beams, swords clashing, shields flying, thunder crashing and water rushing. Peter truly felt numb. All of a sudden, all the noise came to a halt. He could only hear three gunshots.

 

_Boom._

 

_Boom._

 

_Boom._

 

Then darkness.

 

* * *

  

Peter slowly pried his eyes open. All he could see was white.

 

“Hey, kid.” Peter turned to the sound. He knew that voice. In front of him, he was met with two people who he had longed to see. Tony and Natasha.

 

Peter got up to his feet and practically tackled the two, pulling them both into a tight hug. He hid his face into Natasha’s shoulder, trying to suppress his sobs.

 

“We’ve missed you, Peter,” Natasha mumbled into his hair, voice wavering.

 

“I’ve missed you tons, kid,” Tony said with a sad smile, rubbing Peter’s back.

 

Peter pulled away swiping at his eyes. “It’s so good to see you two.”

 

Tony and Natasha shared a look, then turned back to Peter. “We love you, Pete, but you shouldn’t be here,” Natasha said to him, cupping his face with one hand.

 

“I-I don’t understand.” Peter furrowed his eyebrows, tears still spilling down his face.

 

Natasha used her thumb to wipe away his tears. She tilted her head and simply looked at Peter as if she was trying to memorize him.

 

“It isn’t your time, Pete. You still have a whole life ahead of you. I need you to keep fighting.” Tony said, his voice raw with emotion.

 

“W-what are you guys talking about?”

 

“You need to push through this, Peter. I know you can.”

 

“Am I dead?” Peter asked, voice barely audible.

 

“No, kid. But you’re dying.” Tony squeezed his shoulder. “You gotta pull through on this one. Do it for Nat and me.”

 

Peter slowly nodded his head, looking upwards to prevent fresh tears from falling.

 

“I miss you guys so much.” Peter sobbed. Natasha pulled Peter into her arms, one arm around his back and the other cradling his head.

 

“And we’ve missed you. More than you could possibly imagine.” Tony said, sadder than he’s ever sounded before.

 

“Will I ever see you guys again?”

 

Natasha pulled away from Peter, hands resting on his shoulders, looking into his eyes. “Eventually, yes.”

 

“I know it’s hard, and I know you’re scared, but you gotta fight this, Peter,” Tony said, voice breaking towards the end.

 

Peter nodded. He bit his lip, urging himself to stop crying. Peter moved to embrace Tony tightly.

 

“See you later, kid. Say hi to Capsicle for me.” Tony whispered.

 

Peter moved to hug Natasha next. “Bye, Peter. I’ll see you soon.” her voice tear-strained.

 

Everything faded to darkness once again.

 

* * *

  

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

 

Peter felt as a rush of air filled his lungs. He slowly opened his eyes. No Tony or Natasha. He was in a bed in the med bay, hooked up to about ten different machines. Sitting on his right was an exhausted-looking Steve, with his hand over Peter’s. Peter turned his head to face Steve and squeezed his hand.

 

“Hey.” Peter rasped out. Peter watched as Steve’s breath caught in his throat.

 

“Oh thank God. You took ten years off of my life, kiddo.” Steve gave him a watery smile. Steve ran a hand over Peter’s hair, brushing his curls out of his face.

 

“I’m sorry,” Peter said, voice barely above a whisper. Tears began to cloud his vision.

 

“Shhhh. It’s okay, Pete. Just rest for now,” Steve cupped his face with one hand, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb. With that, Peter drifted off, exhaustion taking over his body.

 

The next time Peter woke up, Steve was in the same spot, right next to his bed. Bruce was on the other side of Peter, tablet in hand, probably monitoring his vitals. Across the room, Clint was leaning on the wall, staring at the floor. Thor was seated in a chair in the corner, watching Peter carefully.

 

“He has awoken!” Thor boomed. Bruce practically dropped his tablet as Clint and Steve visibly jumped.

 

“Volume, Thor!” Steve said exasperatedly. He turned his attention to Peter, face softening. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Sore. Head and stomach hurt.” Peter responded weakly.

 

“That would probably be the concussion and gunshot wounds. I’ll see if I can get someone to up your pain meds.” Bruce said, resting a hand on Peter’s knee in comfort.

 

“Concussion? Gunshot wounds? I got shot?”

 

“Yeah, Pete. You were shot three times.” Clint said, walking towards Peter’s bed. His eyebrows furrowed in concern.

 

“What happened?” Peter asked, entirely confused.

 

“How much do you remember?”

 

“Not a lot. The last thing I can think of was fighting those guys in the alleyway.” Peter shrugged. “What happened to me?”

 

Steve sighed and leaned back into his chair. “We’re probably going to have to play back the footage that your suit took to get the full story.” Steve ran a hand over his tired face. “I got home from my mission, probably a few hours after you left. Imagine my reaction when you were nowhere to be found.” Peter shrunk back into his bed, guiltily. Steve paused, then continued. “Anyways, I went out to look for you and when I finally found you, you were bleeding out in the alleyway, unconscious. Practically on the brink of death.”

 

Peter thought he couldn’t possibly feel any worse but then another wave of guilt crashed down on him. “Oh shit.”

 

“Yeah. My thoughts exactly.” Steve said frowning.

 

“That’s when I got the call from Cap, who was practically losing his mind at this point, that you needed a medevac.” Bruce continued the story. “We had to rush you into the operating room. You needed emergency surgery to remove the bullets and stop the bleeding. That was way too close for comfort, Peter.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Peter whispered, pupils blown from the pain meds. “I broke my promise. Should’ve listened to you.” he said, looking at Steve with apologetic eyes.

 

Steve nodded, composure wavering. “You should’ve, but it’s okay. I’m just glad you’re safe.” Steve squeezed his hand.

 

“I’m sorry,” Peter repeated, voice breaking.

 

“It’s okay, Pete. It’s okay.” Steve said with a sad smile, blue eyes glassed over. Peter sniffled. Steve gazed at him, cupping his cheek with one hand. “You’re still in huge trouble, though. Consider yourself grounded.”

 

Peter’s eyes widened. “That’s fair. For how long?”

 

“Probably till your thirty. We aren’t going to let you out of our sight anytime soon.” Clint said with a smirk across his face. Steve nodded in agreement.

 

“I’m sure Stark and Nat would agree,” Bruce said, a half smile grazing his lips as he glanced upwards.

 

Maybe Peter would be okay, after all.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Endgame literally destroyed me. I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors, I just needed to vent.


End file.
